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Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Attaur Rehman was accused of rape earlier this week. According to the victim, Rehman continued to rape her for 11 months, threatening to disclose a footage he filmed of the occurrence in case she decided to divulge his name and the rancidity associated with it.
Rehman, also a Punjab Assembly lawmaker, fled abroad to Dubai to avoid any potential consequences. The victim was 21, a first-year MSCS student from Multan. Rehman is 51.
The victim was originally a resident in Lahore and had just recently had relocated to Multan to study. She was working at Pakistan Human Development Foundation (PHDF) – a local NGO being run by the accused.
CCPO Zubair Ahmed informed the media that she could not be brought forth, despite attempts made by police officials to contact her. “If she decides to contact us and submit a written application, then Multan police will ensure that necessary action is taken in accordance with the law,” he added.
Source: The Express Tribune
It is rather terrifying to imagine a situation where the abuser has the audacity to threaten his victim with evidence that only confirms his crime.
In what way is it acceptable to live in country where the consequences of a footage confirming a crime are harsher for the victim than they are for the criminal?
This is nothing but the result of a far reaching history of oppressive, suffocating patriarchal values that make women believe their identity hinges solely on their ‘izzat’ and that nothing else can take precedence over it.
Source: Parhlo
The victim reportedly sought help from the police but was not allowed to lodge an FIR because of Rehman’s strong political patronage. The authorities finally paid attention when the local magistrate directed them to take action after the victim was admitted to a hospital, on the basis of alleged sodomy.
It is commonly believed that women don’t report their cases. That they are too scared, meek or helpless to inform the authorities. That they are to be held responsible for the lack of official legal cases. In reality, the entire process of informing authorities is made so tedious and stigmatic for women in Pakistan that they barely get through it.
But this example is one in hundreds where the official authorities succumb to political influence and power, and play by personal gain instead of ethics. There doesn’t even need to be politics and power involved for the officials to side with the abuser. Sometimes they’re just moved by the habitual routine of silencing women.
There is an urgent need for gender sensitisation training for the police force. While this has recently started gaining momentum to some degree, it is still widely disregarded as unnecessary in several parts of the country which leaves its officials ill informed, ignorant and apathetic.
Today marks the third day of this news being out in the open but there is no sign yet of statements, protests or condemnations from the government or its people. An event with such magnanimity necessitates at least some form of response from the country.
